1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an apparatus for providing convenient portable cooking and food serving by barbecue or grilling cooking techniques. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a barbecue grill and associated tables that can be mounted on the trailer hitch of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. Sections 1.97-1.99
In many instance, people want to cook and dine out-of-doors in locations remote from home. In some locations, picnic grounds provide fireplaces, free standing grills and the like may be provided, but they are often inconveniently located or already in use. In other locations no such facilities are available, for example, in parking lots, roadside rest stops and the like. At many sporting events, fans go to the stadium hours before the game and cook out, but they must take their own cooking and dining facilities.
Some efforts to provide portable cooking facilities have been patented, but for a number of reasons, these efforts do not provide the convenience required to make such outdoor dining experiences as easy and pleasant as possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,467 provides a grill that is attached to an inside wall of a cargo hold in a camper truck or the like by a pivoting cantilevered arm. This apparatus of course requires a substantial volume of on-board storage space that cannot conveniently be used for any other purpose. It also carries a substantial risk that hot coals may be closed up in the vehicle cargo hold when the grill is stored there, creating an unnecessary fire hazard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,089 discloses a grill support in the form of a wire rack that can be attached to a balcony rail, ladder of the like, which might be modified for attachment to a motor vehicle, but this apparatus provides no work surfaces for food preparation or serving and is only an accessory to a more complex outdoor cooking system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,316 discloses a dedicated single axle two-wheel trailer for outdoor cooking, but this apparatus clearly substantially increases the difficulty of driving and parking the pulling vehicle and is very expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,541 discloses an attachment for a standard barbecue grill comprising a horizontal wire frame attached at one end to a standard barbecue grill and supported at the other end by a pair of legs. A shelf is placed onto the frame for use in food preparation and serving. This device, with attached barbecue grill, is not readily portable and requires some setup.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,944 discloses a mini-kitchen for use with a pickup truck, which is bolted to the floor of the pickup truck and rests on the side walls of the truck bed. Thus, this apparatus is more or less permanently anchored to the truck, reducing the utility of the truck, leading to rust problems that occur whenever the sheet metal of a motor vehicle is penetrated, and requires the cook to work in the bed of the truck, which most users would probably not like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,891 discloses a free standing cylindrical cooker supported on four legs, two of which have small wheels at their ends. This apparatus is not portable and could not be towed by a motor vehicle safely.
Therefore, a need exists for a barbecue grill that can be easily attached to and removed from a motor vehicle; that includes associated food preparation and serving surfaces; that allows full use of the motor vehicle's storage space; that requires little or no setup; that does not substantially affect handling, turning, or parking of the motor vehicle.